Ambition is Risky Business… 

Is this everything Disney has ever needed and more?? Simply, yes. Disney offers a fresh take on classic 80s rom-com tropes and stereotypes. John Hughes inspired rom-com. Revamping Pretty in Pink meets 10 Things I Hate About You yet offering a fresh take of high schooler’s biggest night… prom. 

Prom Pact shows two outsider best friends more comfortable on the outside looking in and finally decide to step into the light of the fray of high school life. At the height of prom season, seniors Mandy Yang (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her best friend Ben Plunkett (Milo Manheim) are surrounded by cringy over the top 80s themed promposals. Mandy even states at the beginning, “Promposals are just another example of the patriarchy affirming its dominance over women.” But Mandy has only one thing in mind; to attend her dream school. She has her sights set on Harvard. After finding out she’s deferred, she is determined to do anything in her power to get herself off the waitlist. Even if that means asking the one person that represents everything she despises… popular all-star jock Graham Lansing (Blake Draper) whose powerful senator father happens to be a Harvard alum. So, if she tutors Graham and gets an in with the senator, a letter of recommendation would be just the thing to get off the waitlist. As defiant as Mandy is about her firm belief in how phoney the idea of falling in love is, especially in heteronormative love… Using Graham means nothing but a scheme to get into Harvard. If only there wasn’t undeniable chemistry between the two of them. Once she begins to tutor and get to know Graham, she realizes there is more to him than what she originally thought, perhaps something more to her than Harvard. But as she starts to fall for Graham, she starts to lose sight of the grand scheme of it all. Is Graham Lansing more important than Harvard?? Is Mandy willing to throw her future away for a high school fling?? Is she willing to compromise all her values for him?? 

The feminist themes expressed in this film are top tier and this is a made for Disney Channel/Disney+ movie. That’s saying a lot, so I think film makers and Hollywood should be taking a lot of notes from this. Prom Pact star, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, turns Mandy into a three dimensional character with far more depth than expected from such characters we’ve seen in the past. Disney is known for their Mary Sue type female leads, who lack flaws and are depicted in such a positive light that they do no wrong. Mandy is far from this, the complete opposite of this trope actually. She is more than just a slogan t-shirt wearing gal, even though I have to admit her “less plastic, more ocean” and “save the bees” tees help defy Mandy’s ways. Graham even pokes fun at this, “Just cause I don’t advertise it on my t-shirt doesn’t mean I’m not a good person.” Mandy isn’t afraid to speak her mind and get her point across. She doesn’t stand for the usual girly standards. Most teen movies try to relate to high schoolers acting that every girl is obsessed with prom. But Prom Pact breaks those, Mandy rolls her eyes at the cringy elaborate promposals her classmates are staging. She values her friendship with Ben more than anything prom or the so-called high school experience has to offer. 

It is quickly established in the film that Mandy is a feminist and the entirety of the movie is filled with feminist overtones. Most statements that come out of Mandy’s mouth refer to some feminist tagline or agenda. Which some viewers may find annoying, but I myself find it refreshing for a Disney Channel movie to have a strong independent female lead. This just goes to show, like Mandy says, “Let me remind you my worth is not determined by some boy.” This is exactly the message being conveyed in Prom Pact. 

The 80s played a major role in Prom Pact. It just so happens that their senior prom is 80s theme. So there are plenty of references to all of Molly Ringwald’s iconic teen movies from that decade. All of the promposals are subtle nods to cult classics. The movie opens up with a stuffy school pep rally that gets interrupted by the first promposal of the season. Four guys from the basketball team, one being Graham, dance to the iconic Ghostbusters theme in the matching jumpsuits as the letters from their slimmers shoot out to spell prom. 

During Mandy and Graham’s first tutoring session in the library, three classmates recreate The Breakfast Club dancing in the library scene. Mandy makes it very clear to Graham about her opinions on the whole promposal thing, “Well, I just think it would be nice if any of these promposals took into account the girls’ interests or life Instead of just being an excuse for the guys to look cool in front of his friends.”

With Say Anything, like does it get any better than Dobler standing in front of a red car holding a boombox above his head while “In Your Eyes” plays?? That was a rhetorical question because the answer is always yes. Taking into consideration what Mandy pointed out, Graham whispers to her, “I bet his girlfriend doesn’t even like John Cusack.” While some random classmate stands holding a boombox in front of a red car, with “prom?” written on the windshield. 

Mandy even finds herself somewhat enjoying the promposals as she’s becoming closer and closer to Graham. She takes a picture of a student dressed up as Doc Brown from Back To the Future, asking, “Great Scott, will you go to prom with me??”

The best promposal of them all, is without a doubt Graham’s, asking Mandy to prom. He recreates one of Mandy’s favorite movies but puts his own spin on it. He dances to “Old Time Rock and Roll” wearing nothing but underwear and an unbuttoned shirt (like we’re complaining) as if he’s Tom Cruise from Risky Business. The music even gets mashed up to One Direction’s “You Dont Know Youre Beautiful” as Graham sings, “Mandy, you light up my world. Like nobody else. The way that you tutor me. Gets me overwhelmed. Your fight for human rights. Makes you hot as hell. Mandy. Oh, oh, oh. Will you go to prom with me??” Just for Mandy to have a secret obsession with One Direction makes this movie worth watching. But this scene itself makes it a masterpiece. 

They even joke how sexist cult classic 80s films are in today’s culture. “Promposals are just another example of the patriarchy affirming its dominance over women.” Mandy stands by her point even when Ben tries to argue that the 80s theme kind of makes it fun and all. She argues that the 80s theme makes it worse, so she asks him to name at least one 80s movie that isn’t totally sexist. He brings up The Breakfast Club, which she calls out that the film tries to express to teens to be themselves unless you like a cute boy, so Molly Ringwald can just give you a makeover. Weird Science, where Mandy says, “The perfect woman is scantily clad and here to please.” You have to admit, she’s right… Hate to break it to Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. Lastly, to try and go in for the kill, Ben just sets himself up for failure by bringing up Revenge of the Nerds. “The hero nerd tricks a girl into believing he;s her boyfriend so she’ll have sex with him.” 

Thankfully Prom Pact turns all of these tropes on their hands by having Mandy not try to change everything about herself, with the oh so typical ugly duckling makeover, just to be with some jock… Something that Prom Pact did very well to maintain is for our two main characters, Ben and Mandy, to maintain a platonic relationship, which is refreshing that guys and girls can just be friends. Unlike Pretty in Pink that so desperately failed at that… 

The most subtle promposal is when Mandy and Ben go on their annual “Friday night Mandy and Ben’s bookstore-movie-waffle night”. Ben asks, “Do you ever feel like we wasted our youth sitting on the sidelines and judging people??” So in an apology for Ben feeling like he’s past his peak and wasted his glory days. Mandy asks him to prom in ketchup writing on the back of a dinner place mat. “Wow, you really know how to make a boy feel special.” It’s captivating how early on they set up Mandy and Ben’s unbreakable friendship. “So, Benjamin Walter Plunkett, do you accept the terms and conditions of my promposal and agree to this prom pact??” Um, title drop alert!! “Mandy Elizabeth Yang, it would be my honor.” Of course, they don’t take this whole prom thing seriously, they’re just doing it to enjoy one traditional high school event. 

In her very convincing prom speech she even somehow squeezes in there her feminist agenda. “The only thing I hate more than slow dancing is the gender wage gap.” 

The best scene in the entire movie is when Mandy and Ben have a huge fight… I’m guessing the director said, “take five” but Milo [Manheim] heard, “change lives”. Because that’s what this scene did. After Mandy said yes to Graham’s elaborate promposal, Ben brings her back to reality. “Two nights ago, you were crying in my car telling me that Graham Lansing was using you and that he had a girl on the side.” He even has to remind her about their prom pact, “You asked me to prom!! We had a pact!! We freaking double-tapped it!!” Then, Milo makes this moving speech that is just monumental. “Oh. Oh, you’re sorry?? You’re sorry. I– I did not realize you were sorry. Well, then it’s totally cool. Forget about it. Mandy, I am supposed to be your best friend. I am not some doormat for you to wipe your feet on when your life falls to crap. Do you even like Graham Lansing?? Do you?? Or is this all part of your con to get a letter for Harvard from his father??” Life altering… 

I’m very surprised how much they got away with in this movie, even though they aired it on Disney Channel, it was censored. However, the version released on Disney+ should have a much different rating due to some strong coarse language and lots of crude humor. Like obviously this is geared towards the teenage audience but it’s still Disney. I thought they had standards. Prom Pact is very edgy and gutsy even for Disney. They truly pushed the limits with this one. Yeah, teens drink and party and talk about hooking up. But what’s new?? But like having one of the main characters, Ben’s nickname be “No-nuts”, just proves this movie is more mature Disney’s usual fare. The extent of the jokes is when a freshman bully tells Ben he bet he’s never even hooked up with a girl. Ben tries to stay superior saying he’s kissed a girl before. But Skid Mark Kyle says, “Kissed?? Ugh. What are you, nine?? I’m talking about your P in a V.” WHAT!? This was advertised as a family friendly Disney Channel movie not some angsty teen drama. 

Anyway, if you want a movie to get you in the mood for prom season with Andi Mack herself, Zombies guy, and the next generation’s Troy Bolton?? Watch Prom Pact streaming on Dinsey+!!